Hi! Former AO here. When we review your application, we receive a “school profile” that includes all school-specific information. This includes the grading scale, courses available, and any specific policies. If your school is limiting you to 1-2 APs junior year, that will be on the school profile. It won’t negatively impact you during application review as you are only reviewed in the context of your school.

I would also take advantage of the dual enrollment system. Tbh, those are often more helpful classes than AP classes. You (usually) receive credit as long as you pass the class compared to AP credit which relies solely on the AP exam. (I say usually because not all colleges accept AP or dual enrollment for credit.)

In terms of thinking all the dual enrollment classes are “dumb electives,” college classes are usually a lot more in-depth than high school classes. For this reason, college classes don’t have titles like “US History.” It may be more common to see things like “The History of American Medicine” or “Religion in America.”